[notification type=”notification_mark”]The Daily News of Sri Lanka today (05/02/2016) published this article about how this man of God is on a mission to bring free churches in Sri Lanka under one diocesan body.[/notification]
Luke 12:39 – “Know this: A homeowner who knew exactly when a burglar was coming would not permit the house to be broken into. You must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
Christians throughout the world are in preparation for the second coming of Lord Jesus. Therefore there is a need for the Kingdom of God to be established in any country in a powerful way.
As the Chief Overseer of the Apostolic Diocese of Ceylon, Rev. Dr. Kirby De Lanerolle has a mission to bring free churches under one body known as the Apostolic Diocese of Ceylon with the intention of giving them a governance structure. In other words they should come under a fivefold ministry – namely Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists.
“When you talk about the dynamics of a church you can have something called a free church. It does not have a governing structure. They are not accountable to someone over them. For example someone would feel a strong calling, they may have an encounter with the Lord or have a vision. So a free church would be started by every man who felt a call. But no one needs to ordain or commission them. I was the same. I felt my calling one day and I went out and ministered. After a couple of years I had a congregation of around 200. And I wondered, am I a church? But according to the Bible, a church is not a building but a group of people who get together to worship God,” said Rev. Dr. De Lanerolle.
What is a free church? It is a church that does not come under the Apostolic Five Fold Ministries.
“There are many pastors who have free churches. Which is great. I am a free church and I remain a free church. I am the pastor of ‘WOWLife’ free church. Both my wife and I are pastors.
If you take Assembly of God, they are a super denomination. There is a strong covering, with a nice structure and the pastors are trained.
The denomination gives them the ability to have the authority. If you are a pastor of AOG, it carries some sort of weight. When you go to a police station, if you are a pastor of AOG, they take notice of you. If you are a pastor at an Anglican church or a Reverend at an Anglican Church, they take more notice of you. If you say you are a father in the Catholic Church they may take more notice of you. This is because you come under an authority or a governance structure,” explained Rev. Dr. De Lanerolle.
Matthew 9:37: “The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.” “I want to give free churches a governance structure, so that we can be one voice in the nation. The free churches are fatherless. Spiritually it is vital that we as free churches have a father and the fivefold ministry.
This is because the kingdom of God has to be established. We have been given a mandate to establish it. The kingdom of God has fivefold ministries – Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists. If these five offices are not established in any country, the body of Christ, in that area, becomes very dysfunctional and their effectiveness is weakened,” pointed out Rev. Dr. De Lanerolle.
Rev. Dr. De Lanerolle has been appointed to be the Sri Lankan Chapter by Bishop Paul. T. Maran of Indian nationality. In 2013, De Lanerolle had a vision, to father the churches and give them a fivefold ministry.
“Amazingly Bishop Paul. T. Maran – Head of the Indian National Apostolic Diocese had the same vision.
The free churches are all scattered and not recognised. So what happened in India was Bishop Paul. T. Maran went to the government and basically represented the free churches.”
Christianity gets a bad name when there is no one to father and explain things to these free churches.
“Some of these pastors who have started churches, they don’t have any type of education. They have just had a calling or vision from God.
They are trying their best to serve without education. They have no accountability. However if they have a governance structure there will be best practices. They will be accountable to someone.”
“The denominations won’t take these churches under their wing unless they accept the doctrine of the denomination. Foursquare end-times doctrine is different from AOG end-times doctrine. The Ceylon Pentecostal Mission end-times doctrine will differ. Foursquare is into strategic level spiritual warfare and AOG doesn’t believe so much of the spiritual warfare stuff. So doctrines are different,” De Lanerolle said. He said he firmly believed that free churches will be more effective and they will have authority if they come under a fivefold ministry.
“My ministry is prophetic. I have a pastor over my life. Although I am prophetic I need a pastor. I have an apostle and I have a pastor and I am prophetic. The Kingdom can be very effective when the fivefold ministry is there. There is no force for the free churches to join, but I am offering a diocesan structure. I have been appointed by Bishop Paul. T. Maran who has 11,500 churches in India, to handle the free churches in Sri Lanka. So right now there are 450 churches registered. Paul. T. Maran is legally recognised as a Diocesan by the government of India.”
Rev. Dr. Kirby De Lanerolle has experienced the transforming power of Jesus Christ in a might way. During his youth he was into drugs and drinking. He says he has been transformed by the word of God.
“The pastors of these free churches have had their calling, but they need more training. So mine is ministry of reconciliation. These free churches manifest the transforming power of Christ. The Word transformed me: I am who I am today because of the word of God. My sincere wish is for the free churches to grow into a very strong establishment in this nation. We as a church would be more effective to serve the nation if we have governance. The transforming power of Christ comes from your personal relationship with Jesus,” he said.
De Lanerolle is accountable to a governing board. Bishop Paul T. Maran serves on the board. There is Bishop Neil Obeysekere and Bishop Tony Abraham and another eight members.
“I think it is safe if we are all trained for ministry. The idea is to be there as a very effective church for the future.”
Article Source : Daily News (Ishara Jayawardena)
